AAPA “disappointed” over proposed US port funding

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has said that it is disappointed in the funding levels proposed in President Obama’s fiscal 2017 budget, which it described as “grossly imbalanced” for US ports.

The AAPA criticised the reduction of funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coastal navigation programmes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Port Security Grant programme, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA).

“The proposed budget would significantly reduce funding for navigation maintenance and improvements, which is desperately needed to ensure America’s international competitiveness and to allow the nation’s ports to accommodate increasingly large, sea-going vessels,” the AAPA said in a statement.